Hosted by Marco Solorio of OneRiver Media, this video compares the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera and the Canon 5D Mark III in several tests. This includes dynamic range, sharpness, pushing levels, banding, artifacts, rolling shutter, chromakeying, wide/telephoto lengths, DOF (depth of field), low light, macro blocking, contrast, and more.

Check out our follow-up video to this one:
"Comparing the Cinema Camera: Part 2, The Impact of 12-bit RAW"
vimeo.com/52269416

After several DAYS of trying to upload this video to Vimeo, we've ultimately had to reduce the bit-rate compression down to 18mbps (Vimeo recommends 5mbps, ha!), which is down from our minimum quality level of 40mbps. This means the SOURCE file you can download will also inhibit some amount of compression blocking and smearing, even in the Cinema Camera footage, which doesn't originally exist in our ProRes master file. We've tried EVERYTHING, multiple types of uploads, different encoding methods, you name it.

Although the downloadable source file is a little better than the streaming version, it still doesn't compare to the original ProRes source file which imposes no banding, compression artifacts, or chrominance sub-sampling (down from 4:4:4 to H.264's 4:2:0 space). Please keep this in mind when viewing.

Unfortunately Vimeo only allows 100 downloads per day, so check back to download the 2GB file if the queue is filled. And remember to always watch in FULL 1080 HD or you will have added scaling and moiré issues on some of the tests than what is already been added by Vimeo and our horrid bit-rate restrictions.

Thanks for watching. Hope this is as informative for you as it was for me making it.

Twitter: twitter.com/OneRiverMedia
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Head over to my blog for loads more info, photos, kit used etc... philipbloom.net/2012/09/05/bmd/

This review was done on my own time for the readers of my blog and the vimeo community. If you feel it has been of use to you feel free to use the new tipjar feature on vimeo! No obigation! All money received goes into making future reviews as they take so much time and resources...for a more detailed explanation please visit my page here: philipbloom.net/2012/09/28/tipjar/

Edit. I have just checked out the just announced micro four thirds version at IBC. Looks great but it's passive so no iris control through the camera. You need a manual lens like the Voigtlanders.

The good news is with a M43 mount you can put on any lens with easily available adaptors for PL, M, Nikon, Canon. C mount (make sure they cover sensor). It's a much more flexible camera lens wise and makes more sense than the EF version here.

This review was done in my own time and WAS not paid for by anyone. It was made for the readers of my blog and the community. For more on my ethics statement please read the top of the above linked blog post.

Dslrnewsshooter technical editor Matt Allard talks to Black Magic design about their new Digital Cinema camera at the NAB 2012 show.

For full coverage go to dslrnewsshooter.com

Please note. This is graded. This is not flat out of the camera!

Here is some footage I shot in Dungeness, Kent (my favourite location and often used by me) in ProRes HQ for the Blackmagic cinema camera review which you can see here: philipbloom.net/2012/09/05/bmd/

One thing I found on this pre-release camera is there is a touch of pink in the highlights when using ProRes HQ. BMD are aware and it will be fixed for release. This doesn't happen in the raw. The ProRes is beautiful. Sharp, flat as hell (very log-c alexa like) and way easier workflow than raw.

Sharpened a tad in post to make it ping and all shot on the internal battery is 2 hours.

Review will be here when it's ready: philipbloom.net/?p=27131

NoFilmSchool.com

nofilmschool.com/2012/04/blackmagic-designs-cinema-camera-2-5k/

nofilmschool.com/2012/04/hands-on-2-5k-blackmagic-design-cinema-camera

NAB 2012 Coverage:

Simon Westland, Director of Sales EMEA at Blackmagic

This is the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera from Blackmagic Design which was announced on the first day of the NAB 2012 exhibitions. The Cinema Camera came out of nowhere, and it has a 2.5K sensor and records RAW, ProRes, and DNxHD.

Here are some basic specs:

2.5K
13 Stop Dynamic Range
Base ISO: 800 (Expandable to 1600 ISO)
RAW Cinema DNG, ProRes, DNxHD
Records Internall to Any Brand of SSD Drive
EF and ZE Lens Compatibility with Iris Control
Internal Battery - 2 Hour Life (can be powered by almost anything with an adapter)

Available in July for $3000 (including the software mentioned in the video)

Shot on Canon 7D with Nikon 50mm 1.4 and Canon 24-105mm